SGML: Memory of Yuri Rubinsky (1952-1996)

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From: raudab@ix.netcom.com (George Raudabaugh)
Newsgroups: comp.text.sgml
Subject: Re: Yuri Rubinsky
Date: Thu, 25 Jan 1996 20:04:54 -0500 (EST)
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C. M. Sperberg-McQueen and Lou Burnard <U35395@uicvm.uic.edu> wrote:
>Most of the news we get through the Internet is just plain dull. Some
>of it can be amusing, original, even infuriating. Some of it is
>essential to our work. And some of the time, the news we get shakes the
>whole world up, and makes everything we've been thinking and talking
>about seem oddly unimportant. That's what happened to us at the start
>of this week, when the news of Yuri Rubinsky's death reached us.
>Other individuals who will participate in this electronic wake will be
>better equipped to describe his career and accomplishments as a whole
>than we are. But, for what it's worth, here is what we saw and knew of
>him personally.
My first encounter with Yuri was at the "supposed" founding of SGML
Open - supposed because I had arrived at Softquad one week early
because of some internal miscommunications. Yuri was ever the host,
making sure the time was not lost and teaching me more than a thing
or two about SGML.
Since then I have seen him at many SGML conferences always doing
the work meant for 10. His "Year in Review" presentations were
remarkable not only in making the presentations but hounding the
SGML community to contribute - despite his slight stature he was a
bulldog in making this the highlight of the conferences.
I.M.
George Raudabaugh